I arrived late. I opened the door to the temple and found myself facing seventy people, all dressed in black, all deep in meditation. Oh no! Why did I choose to wear my light blue sweatshirt to a Buddhist retreat?!? I bowed to the alter and found a seat in the furthest corner of the room. After one hour of silence a gong sounded and everyone got up and filed out of the temple. I slipped into my clogs and followed the crowd to whatever was next…the dining room for breakfast. It seems that I was the only one with a handbag so, at the first opportunity, I jogged to my car and rummaged through the trunk for an old canvas bag. Success! An appropriately worn-out Urban Outfitters sack.
Breakfast was silent. On the buffet table was a large bowl of oatmeal, and smaller bowls of walnuts, raisins, stewed berries and creme fresh. I filled my bowl and sat at a table being careful not to make eye contact with anyone. I was still hungry. One bowl wasn’t going to hold me over until lunch. I didn’t see snack time on the agenda. Were we allowed to get seconds? Since I only attended the second day of a three-day retreat I missed hearing the rules and guidelines at orientation. I kept watching the main table and when someone refilled his bowl I bolted to fill my bowl again. When I was finished, I noticed that everyone was consulting a sheet hanging on the wall. I decided to check it out. It was the assignments for “samu” which means service. Surprisingly my name was on it and I was assigned to the grounds. (Luckily I didn’t have housekeeping or scraping plates!) When I found the meeting place, I was told that my hour of service was going to be weeding a gravel walkway. I enjoyed my assignment and the fragrance of freshly pulled weeds. The job got easier when someone brought me gloves (even though they were both left hands) and a mat.
A gong sounded and we went back into the temple for more meditation and lectures by two world-reknown scholars and teachers on Real Love and Compassion. More tomorrow on their brilliant teachings…
So cool! I can’t wait to hear more!!
This sounds wonderful. All the best.